Goal Setting Step 4 – Define the Compelling Reasons to Achieve Your Goals

The next post in my series  12 Steps to Achieving your Goals

Strong reasons make strong actions.—William Shakespeare
If you cannot articulate a clear, compelling reason for why you must achieve a goal, especially a huge goal, you will likely not achieve your goal. Why? Simply because achieving any large goal will likely involve changes in your life. It will possibly take you out of your comfort zone.
It will most likely challenge your thinking. It may require hard work. So unless you have compelling and powerful reasons for why it is important for you to achieve your goal, you significantly diminish your chances of achievement.
Focus on why it’s really important to you to achieve this goal. Your reasons could stem from a huge challenge, from your pain, someone else’s pain, an image, etc. Think hard, and make these reasons as emotional as possible, as we are all driven by our emotions, no matter how rational we think we are.
Be careful not to focus on benefits, (define benefits) as we will look at the importance of benefits soon. Instead simply list why it’s important to achieve this result.
Here are the compelling reasons I listed to accomplish my huge goal.

1. To prove to myself that I can take on a huge physical challenge and accomplish it
2. A 21^st birthday gift for my daughter Aliya that she will cherish for the rest of her life
3. To inspire others to set and accomplish huge goals
4. To experience and celebrate nature through a photo essay/s
5. Because I have told the world I am doing it!
   
6. To have time for deep reflection, out of the box thinking, and different perspectives on life
7. To experience firsthand the challenge of the mountain so that I can assess its suitability as a leadership challenge for high schools students at independent schools across Canada
8. To help students raise funds for scholarship endowments at their school and for local, child centred educational initiatives
9. To raise awareness of HIV/AIDs in North America among independent school students
10. To fulfill a 33 year dream, having taken my first flight over Kilimanjaro when I was 10 years old.

Step 4 What are your compelling reasons?
Focus on why it’s really important to you to achieve this goal. Your reasons could stem from a huge challenge, from your pain, someone else’s pain, an image, etc.
Think hard, and make these reasons as emotional as possible, as we are all driven by our emotions, no matter how rational we think we are. Be careful not to focus on benefits here, as we will deal with benefits later. Instead simply list why it’s important for you to achieve this result.
Now it is turn. Define below your absolutely compelling reasons for achieving your huge goal below.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________